Brief Score: Delhi Capitals (216 for 7 in 19 overs) beat Punjab Kings (210 for 5 in 20 overs) by 3 wickets in Dharamshala on Monday. Scorecard | Highlighting
Somewhere between Priyansh Arya blasting sixes into the mound and Delhi Capitals collapsing again in the Powerplay, this match started looking like another one of those IPL 2026 nights where DC will quietly disappear from the playoff race.
Instead, Dharamshala gave them their wildest escape yet.
Delhi Capitals produced the highest run chase in the history of the HPCA Stadium as they chased down 211 in just 19 overs against the Punjab Kings, largely thanks to two players who have spent much of this season facing criticism instead of applause: Axar Patel and David Miller.
Conditions in Dharamshala almost guaranteed madness. At this height, even mishits can disappear into the stands, and bowlers rarely feel fully in control once the ball starts flying.
Punjab quickly understood this.
Priyansh Arya swung right from the first over, smashing Mitchell Starc for 22 runs and completely setting the tone for Punjab’s innings. The young opener blasted 56 off just 33 balls with six sixes as the Delhi pacers struggled badly whenever they bowled the ball during the over.
At 72/0 after six overs, Punjab looked set to push well past 220.
Delhi slowly dragged themselves back into the match after changing their length and attacking the surface harder. Auqib Nabi played a major role in this shift, cleverly using hard lengths to disrupt Punjab’s momentum after an explosive start.
Debutant Madhav Tiwari then added another big moment by dismissing Priyansh for his first IPL wicket as the Delhi bowlers managed to stop Punjab from completely running away with the innings through the middle overs.
Even then, 210 still looked like a massive target as Delhi’s chase began to unravel in familiar fashion.
Abishek Porel, KL Rahul and Sahil Parakh were all back in the pavilion in the first six overs as DC stumbled to 47/3, miles behind Punjab’s start in the Powerplay.
That was when Axar finally produced the innings that Delhi had been desperately waiting for all season.
AXAR PATEL FINALLY PLAYS AS CAPTAIN
Arguably no Delhi Capitals player has been under more pressure this season than Axar.
The captaincy load has clearly affected his batting rhythm for most of IPL 2026 and Delhi have often found themselves looking for contributions from someone who usually provides balance so naturally.
Prior to this match, Axar had scored just 44 runs off 59 balls in the season at a strike rate of 74.57, numbers that simply did not reflect the role Delhi expected him to play in the middle order.
Against Punjab, however, Axar finally looked free again.
He pounced right when DC needed it most and put together a game-changing partnership with Miller that completely changed the chase. The pair added 64 runs off just 34 balls and turned what looked like another collapsing innings into a real chase.
More importantly, Axar finally played with the kind of intent that Delhi has sorely missed this season.
He was attacking the lengths early instead of getting stuck in during the middle overs, something that had repeatedly hurt DC in previous matches. Axar never allowed Punjab to settle completely with the early wickets, whether it was dragging the seamers over the line or using the counter-spin sweep.
His 56 off 30 balls came at a strike rate of 186.67 and completely shifted the energy of the chase.
Although his innings eventually ended with Marcus Stoinis picking up a big wicket, the momentum had already changed by then as Miller was just beginning to open up.
YOU CAN’T KEEP DAVID MILLER SILENT FOR LONG
For someone dropped in Delhi’s previous two matches, David Miller had quite the night to remind everyone why he still remains one of the most dangerous finishers in T20s.
And Miller wasted no time once Axar left.
Marc Jansen’s 16th over became the point where the chase suddenly accelerated beyond Punjab’s control. Miller smashed 15 runs before taking back-to-back sixes to Ben Dwarshuis in the next over.
The innings lasted just 28 balls, but Miller’s 51 completely changed the energy of the game and ensured that the required course was never out of reach.
What followed after his firing was somehow even more chaotic.
Punjab still had chances and Delhi still needed to finish, but debutant Madhav Tiwari then produced one of the most fearless cameos of the night. I’ve impressed with the ball before By dismissing Priyansh Arya on debut, Madhav has now put together a definitive partnership of 35 runs in just 14 balls with Ashutosh Sharma to drag Delhi within touching distance.
Then came the final collapse from Punjab.
With two balls left in the 19th over, Yash Thakur played a costly zero before smashing the boundary. On the final delivery of the over, Auqib Nabi launched a six that completed one of Delhi’s most dramatic wins of the season.
For Punjab Kings, the defeat is now a serious concern heading into the business end of IPL 2026. After once looking like one of the most balanced teams in the tournament, they have now slipped to four straight defeats, with dropped catches, inconsistent bowling and tactical confusion suddenly becoming recurring issues.
Delhi, meanwhile, are still hanging in the balance in the playoffs. But after a season full of batting collapses and failed chases, Dharamshala finally gave them a night when their senior players stepped up exactly when the season required it most.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
May 12, 2026 0:09 AM IST
